If there are any boats in the Air Force special warfare training pipeline, you can bet David Goggins will be carrying them.
Goggins, who retired from active duty in the Navy SEALs in 2016 and has gone on to build a brand as a bestselling author and motivational speaker, has reenlisted at age 51.
He is now assigned to the Special Warfare Training Wing, Air Force officials confirmed to Military Times.
While Goggins did not publicly announce his return to active duty, the military-focused Instagram page “Come.Sit.And.Relax” set veteran communities abuzz March 13 when it posted a photo of Goggins in an Air Force uniform with a group of trainees in black berets.
“Kept quiet on this for months until it inevitably went public,” the page’s author wrote. “David Goggins trying again for Pararescue at 51 after quitting so many years ago.”
Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said the service, in accordance with policy, could not discuss the status, progression, or details of current trainees. While Goggins required an age waiver to reenlist, the Air Force did not provide additional details about the waiver.
“Given MSgt Goggins’ background, it’s worth noting that the Air Force has welcomed special operators from other services to cross train into Special Warfare for decades,” Stefanek said in a statement. “Airmen entering the pipeline from sister services must meet the same standards and complete the same rigorous training as all other candidates. We value the experience gained from former Special Forces, Rangers, Marine Special Operations and SEALS that have joined our Air Force Special Warfare units once they have completed their training.”
Goggins, who according to the U.S. military is the only individual to have ever completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, Army Ranger School and Air Force Tactical Air Controller training, famously missed out on his dream of becoming an Air Force pararescue jumper.
Goggins, then 19, said he struggled with the training more than he expected, particularly the swimming portion. During that time he was diagnosed with sickle-cell anemia, and when offered the option to drop from training for medical reasons, he took it.
While Goggins would go on to become a tactical air controller, his perception of failure depressed him, and he finished his initial military contract in 1999 overweight and depressed.
His second military career began in 2001 after he saw a documentary about Navy SEAL training and decided to try to hack it, even though he weighed 297 pounds and was out of regs at the time.
“I saw this show on the Discovery Channel, and it was just guys going through Hell Week. They were freezing, there was a lot of water, and it brought back memories of me going through Pararescue training,” Goggins said in a 2018 military interview.
He lost 106 pounds in three months to ship out to BUD/S and would serve 15 years in the SEALs, going on to become a fitness enthusiast and ultramarathon runner whose accomplishments include completing the infamous Badwater 135-mile race in Death Valley. Goggins also invented his own challenge: the 4x4x48, in which participants run four miles every four hours for 48 hours.
Goggins’ 2018 memoir “Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds,” popularized his “Forty Percent Rule”: the theory that when the mind communicates a person is at their endurance limit, the body is truly only 40% depleted. He’s also famous for asking “Who’s going to carry the boats?” in reference to his SEAL training.
On social media and chat threads, response to Goggins’ new attempt to become a pararescueman has been mixed. Some commenters have hailed his toughness, while others have expressed concern that he may be taking one of a limited number of training spots from a younger candidate looking to build a career.
The original Instagram poster, who did not immediately respond to a Military Times request for comment, voiced worry that Goggins’ notoriety would change the reputation of the elite PJs.
“To Dave’s credit, him quitting the first time was a boon to Indoc as a tough selection course and gave Pararescue credibility and renown when the quietest of professionals couldn’t,” the author said. “Letting Goggins through invalidates that.”
Goggins is the latest in a trend of former service members re-donning the uniform for personal reasons. Last year, Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer returned to the Marine Corps, 15 years after his initial discharge. And in 2023, Army veteran and country music star Craig Morgan reenlisted in the Army Reserve as a warrant officer with a public-facing role in the U.S. Army Band.
Notably, the military’s top uniformed officer — chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan “Raizin’” Caine is himself a military second-timer, having retired in 2024 and then recalled through his nomination to the chairmanship by President Donald Trump in February 2025.
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